Inside ASIS

UPGRADES PLANNED FOR BULLETIN

Irene L. Travis, longtime ASIS member and experienced generalist in the broad field of information science, has been selected as the new editor of the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, effective with the current issue.

Travis has been an active member of ASIS since 1968, and she has served in a number of editorial and programmatic roles throughout the organization. She is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science.

Richard B. Hill, publisher of the Bulletin and ASIS executive director, says the decision to appoint Travis to the role was based in large part on the broad range of expertise – both editorial and substantive – that she can bring to the magazine during this exciting era.

"Not only are we eager to continue the growth of the Bulletin in its more familiar print version," Hill says, "but we are also experimenting with ways to make the electronic Bulletin a viable member service and resource. Irene will contribute a great deal to those efforts."

Travis began her career after graduate school as a faculty member at the University of Maryland College of Library and Information Service, specializing in subject retrieval of information and cataloging. She subsequently joined a Washington, DC-area defense contractor, where she remained for eight years as a consultant to government agencies in subject retrieval systems and library automation and as a researcher in an R&D group. During that period, her interests grew to include the application of artificial intelligence to subject description and retrieval, and technology forecasting.

In 1988 she joined the Information, Technology and Facilities Policy Staff of the World Bank. As a manager and customer representative, she worked intensively with the problems of electronic document management, including records management and archives, and in the introduction of other new technologies, such as the Internet.

"The field of information science has entered another exciting era in which ASIS has an important role in both encouraging information professionals to understand the technical changes underway and helping them relate new technologies to the customers they and we serve," Travis says. "The Bulletin has always been an important tool for ASIS, and I’m proud to have the opportunity to expand its coverage of the field, while experimenting with ways to compete in the electronic realm that is emerging."

Travis is currently based in Austin, Texas, where she returned last year as an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas and as a consultant. She holds an MLS and Ph.D. in librarianship (with a concentration in information science) from the University of California at Berkeley.

"Among other goals, I plan to capitalize on the synergy that exists between JASIS and its research bent and the Bulletin’s practical, news-oriented approach to achievements and advances in information science," Travis notes. "Many opportunities and challenges exist, and I am excited to take them on."

Copyright: What Should JASIS Do?

by Don Kraft, editor of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science (JASIS)

It seems that issues of intellectual property rights, especially in terms of copyright, are beginning to come up as a regular problem in terms of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science (JASIS). The rapidly changing scene of information technology, especially electronic publishing, has only exacerbated the problem. Let me refer you to the special topic issue on electronic publishing (JASIS, v. 47, n. 9, September, 1996, especially Linda Schamber's article, "What is a do cument? Rethinking the Concept in Uneasy Times," pp. 669-671).

Several scholarly societies, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), have developed policies regarding copyright. What should such a policy be for the American Society for Information Science (ASIS) regarding JASIS (remembering that JASIS is published by a commercial publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. for ASIS).

Some of the issues that arise include:

Can an author have a preprint of an article on the Web (Net) prior to publication in a journal? Can the preprint stay on the Web after the article has been accepted and a copyright transfer agreement signed? Does it matter if the article on the Web is different from the one published (perhaps due to some revision required by the review process), and if so, how different is different? What recourse can a publisher have, should a publisher have, for violations?

Does having an abstract put out in an electronic journal, with a version of the article available on the Net, affect publication? Is this prior publication of the article? Should JASIS take articles that have been "published" elsewhere?

What limits should a publisher impose on an article under copyright, in terms of allowing copying, allowing anthologizing in a book of such articles, being published elsewhere?

Does it even make sense for a university to pay a professor to do research and write an article, only to see that professor give the copyright to a publisher who will then turn around and sell the article (in a journal) to the university?

In terms of legal issues, and it seems to me that the law is always behind the technology, what is the law and what should it be?

Where is this all leading?

The JASIS Editorial Board and the editor would like your opinions. To comment electronically, please post your views on ASIS-L or send them directly to me at kraft@bit.csc.lsu.edu. Alternatively, you can reach me by mail at

ASIS Sponsors IIA Session

The American Society for Information Science (ASIS) developed and sponsored a special session that was included in the April Technology Workshop of the Information Industry Association.

DNS Not Available - Is the Internet Going to Break? took a look at the Internet and the status of reliability, congestion and performance on this superhighway. Among the questions addressed in the session were

What are the problems with traffic?

Will technology provide a "bandwidth bonanza" in the future?

When might a technological solution to the traffic jam reach the mass consumer market?

What is Internet II?

Discussing these questions was a panel of experts that included the following:
Clifford A. Lynch, immediate past president of ASIS and director, Division of Library Automation, University of California;
Robert Pepper, director of the FCC’s Office of Plans and Policy; and
George Strawn, division director, Networking and Communications Research and Infrastructure Staff, National Science Foundation.

News from ASIS Chapters

For its May meeting, the Delaware Valley Chapter (DVC) of ASIS planned a program entitled International and National Developments in Fighting Database Piracy – and the Ensuing Debate. Jacques Catudal of Drexel University was to discuss European and American initiatives for database protection and the continuing debate affects everyone.

In April, the Delaware Valley Chapter was a cooperating society with the Philadelphia chapter of the Special Libraries Association in a technology day session featuring a number of ASIS members. Among them were Robert Dougherty, research analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information; James Rush, former ASIS president and executive director of PALINET; Jacqueline Trolley, director of corporate communications at Institute for Scientific Information; and Barbara Peters, senior information special ist at Wyeth-Ayerst.

The Northern Ohio ASIS Chapter (NORASIS) presented Caveat Surfer! Social Responsibility and Internet Resources as the program in conjunction with its annual business meeting. Tom Froehlich, associate professor, School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University, was the speaker.

The New England ASIS (NEASIS) chapter took a look at JAVA in the Morning: The Dawn of New Technologies in its May meeting. With the support of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Sun Microsystems and MIT’s Information Systems Department, the half-day event focused on the state-of-the-art JAVA technology, its applications and how it has changed the face of client-server and Internet development.

For its April meeting, the New Jersey ASIS Chapter (NJASIS) offered A Symposium on Chemical Information, featuring a variety of speakers from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chemical Abstracts Service and Institute for Scientific Information. And for May, the chapter scheduled a half-day primer on Managing Network Resources: LANs, WANs, Intranets. Raymond Schwartz of Rutgers University was to address the topic "Finding Content on Networked Resources: Metadata," a look at strategies that individuals and institutions can employ to make their Web pages more accessible to intended audiences. Timothy Donovan of AIM was to discuss how local network technologies work and intelligent agents.

The Los Angeles Chapter of ASIS (LACASIS) is holding a get-together meeting for its far-flung membership at the ASIS Mid-Year Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition to making and renewing friendships among the members who come from as far away as Australia and Hawaii, chapter leaders advised that the dinner meeting would also be an organizational session for a new Arizona chapter.

News from ASIS SIGs

News about ASIS Members

Several ASIS members are serving on the steering committee of this summer’s 2nd International ACM Digital Libraries ’97 conference. They are Edward Fox, chair of the committee and professor at Virginia Tech; Nicholas Belkin, professor, Rutgers University; Richard Furuta, associate professor, Texas A&M University; Gary Marchionini, associate professor, University of Maryland; and Edie Rasmussen, associate professor, University of Pittsburgh.

N. Bernard "Buzzy" Basch, former ASIS treasurer and president of Basch Subscriptions, Inc., presented a workshop on How to Negotiate Services and Fees with Subscription Agents to the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

Shelley Warwick, assistant professor, Baruch College Library, City University of New York, offered the summation of a program sponsored by the Library Association of the City University of New York. The full-day program, Access and Excellence: Copyright and the Struggle for Fair Use, included several speakers on many levels of the issues involved.

William Saffady, professor at the School of Information Science and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany, will join the faculty of the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, effective September 1. Saffady is also the author of the recently published Document Life Cycle: A White Paper, available through the Association for Information and Image Management.

Susan Feldman, Datasearch, Ithaca, New York, is the winner of the first annual IAC Authorship Award presented by the Association of Independent Information Professionals. The honor is for the best article in the AIIP newsletter. Feldman’s winning article was "Is There a Future for Information Professionals?"

Pamela Spence Richards, chair of SIG/III and professor of library and information studies, Rutgers University, has been named a Fulbright Scholar for 1997-98. Richards, former chair of the ASIS International Relations Committee and the ASIS New Jersey Chapter, will teach at the St. Petersburg Academy of Culture. She is the first Fulbright Scholar in library and information science education to be named to a republic of the former Soviet Union.

Arthur Plotnik, editorial director for ALA Editions, has left ALA to devote full time to his writing activities.

Carol A. Berger, founder and president of C. Berger and Company, has been named to the Dominican University (formerly Rosary College) President’s Council, which advises the college administration in support of its strategic plan.

Belver C. Griffith, professor emeritus and research professor at Drexel University’s College of Information Science and Technology, was awarded the 1996 Derek de Solla Price Award for scientometrics.

Among the contributors to Information Science: Still an Emerging Discipline, edited by James G. Williams, professor of information science, and Toni Carbo, dean of the School of Information Sciences, both at the University of Pittsburgh, are the following ASIS members: Thomas J. Galvin, State University of New York; Roger R. Flynn and Emile L. Morse, University of Pittsburgh; Roger K. Summit, founder of Dialog; and F.W. Lancaster, University of Illinois. The book is dedicated to Allen Kent, 1977 ASIS Award of Merit winner and one of the founders of information science.

Jacqueline C. Mancall, professor in the College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, has been awarded the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association "Outstanding Contributor Award."

Mark Ackerman, University of California at Irvine, is a member of the program committee for the upcoming Group ’97 – International Conference on Supporting Group Work, sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery.

Among the members of the symposium committee for ISDL ’97 – International Symposium on Research, Development and Practice in Digital Libraries are Hidehiro Ishizuka, professor, University of Library and Information Science (ULIS), Tsukuba Science City, Japan; Masamitsu Negishi, National Center for Science Information Systems, Tokyo; Kimio Hosono, professor, Keio University, Tokyo; and Atsutake Nozoe, professor, Aichi Shukutoku University, Aichi-Ken, Japan. Serving on the program committee for the same meeting are Edie Rasmussen, associate professor, University of Pittsburgh, and Shoichi Taniguchi, ULIS.

News from ASIS Institutional Members

New York Metro Area’s Only Ph.D. in Information Studies Receives State Approval

The only doctoral program in information studies in the New York metropolitan area will be offered this fall by the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York. The program addresses a demand that has grown since Columbia University closed its School of Library Service in 1990.

Paul LeClerc, president and CEO of the New York Public Library, says the goals of the Palmer School’s new Ph.D. program are "critical to ensuring that libraries everywhere have the expertise to guide their users through the increasingly complex and technology-driven world of information access."

Students in the new program will study in one of two areas: information organization and access or information studies and services.

Clifford Lynch Joins CNI as Executive Director

Clifford A. Lynch, immediate past president of ASIS and director of library automation at the University of California, has been named executive director of the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI), effective in July. He succeeds Paul Evan Peters, CNI's founder, who died suddenly in November 1996.

Lynch has been at the University of California since 1979 where he oversees university-wide library automation and inter-networking activities. Internationally known for his development of Melvyl, an information system which serves all of the campuses of the University of California, Lynch has played a key role in the development of information standards. Especially noteworthy is his work on Z39.50, which addresses the need for interoperability among information retrieval systems.

Lynch holds a bachelors of arts in mathematics and computer science from Columbia College; a master of sciences in computer science from the Columbia University School of Engineering; and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Regarding his appointment as CNI's Executive Director, Lynch said "It's a great honor to be able to build on the work that my friend and colleague Paul Peters has done on behalf of our whole community, and to be able to lead CNI into the 21st century."

Levine Honored for Humanitarian Efforts

Emil Levine, head of the Clearinghouse of the International Nuclear Information System, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, was presented a Certificate of Appreciation at an awards ceremony in the U.S. Embassy in Vienna. The citation was for "his efforts to assist the National and University Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo to rebuild and restore its infrastructure, its holdings and its contacts with the world."

In presenting the certificate, Ambassador Swanee Hunt and Helena Finn, head of USIS in Vienna, noted that Levine was responsible for numerous donations from U.S. libraries and companies. Levine accepted the award on behalf of ASIS and acknowledged the support being provided by its membership.

Heather Newman

Heather Newman, former librarian at both the Minnesota State Law Library and Dorsey & Whitney, passed away quietly at home in April, following a long battle against cancer.

Heather was membership chair of the Minnesota Chapter of ASIS in 1989-90 and treasurer from 1990-1993. Roy Tally, Systems Advisory Council, state of Minnesota, says Heather "is remembered by all for her cheerful competence and gentle nature." Heather did much to strengthen the chapter’s recordkeeping system and communication with ASIS headquarters.

Nina Platt, librarian at the Office of Minnesota Attorney General Library, says, "Heather was a loving mother, a dedicated librarian and a great friend. Her quick wit and bright smile will be missed by all."

Letters and cards of remembrance can be sent to The Family of Heather Newman, 26 Sawmill Drive, Penfield, NY 14526. Memorials, if desired, should be made to the American Cancer Society.

Participation Sought for ASIS 1998 Meetings

As this issue of the Bulletin arrives in the mailboxes of ASIS members, the 1997 ASIS Mid-Year Meeting, Information Privacy, Security and Data Integrity, is well underway.

Each year ASIS sponsors two of the most highly regarded meetings in the information field. The Annual Meeting focuses on the breadth of activities and endeavors of the information community with technical sessions covering virtually all of the specialties of the information profession. The Mid-Year Meeting, smaller and more intense, tackles a key area of development in the industry and presents in-depth technical and practical perspectives on the implications of the development.

The 1997 Annual Meeting, for which program information will be available to all ASIS members shortly, will focus in part on Digital Collections: Implications for Users, Funders, Developers and Maintainers, but will also address other topics from research, technical and application perspectives.

On the following pages, preliminary calls for participation invite membership involvement in the two 1998 ASIS meetings.

Call for Participation 1998 ASIS Mid-Year Meeting

Collaboration Across Boundaries: Theories, Strategies and Technology

In response to mature markets, increasing global competition, fast technological development and decreasing resources, many organizations are adopting collaborative work practices to solve complex problems and produce innovative products. Many organizations have projects that include experts in telecommunications networks, information systems design, human-computer interaction and end users. To collaborate effectively, participants explore and integrate knowledge and work practices from diverse domains to reach an understanding of the work process and expected outcomes. Participants' unique past experiences, specialized work languages and differences in work patterns, culture, perceptions of quality and success, organizational priorities and constraints make this process difficult. Collaborative theories, strategies, outcomes and technologies will be highlighted at this meeting.

We invite papers on a variety of topics related to collaboration, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

New requirements for employees imposed by collaborative work and technology

The role of collaboration in professional organizations

The design and management of collaborative versus individual work processes

Collaboration in Society

Models of collaboration between countries or large social groups

Collaborative community networks

Approaches to conflict resolution

Collaboration among individuals from different cultures

The impact of collaboration technology in society and among social and economic groups

Collaboration in Education

Teaching collaborative skills

The use of collaboration technology in education

Collaborative games for learning cooperation skills

Information Seeking as a Collaborative Process

Interaction between users and intermediaries

Interaction between users and information retrieval systems

Collaboration in the digital library

Theories of Collaboration

Models of collaborative decision-making

Models of the collaborative process

Emerging theories of collaboration

These themes will be elaborated by keynote and invited speakers and through refereed papers, panels, technical sessions, demonstrations and other presentations. You are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation, as outlined below.

Contributed Papers

Contributed papers should address one or more of the topics outlined above or related topics. All papers will be refereed. Presenters of accepted papers will be allowed 15-25 minutes for delivery; all accepted papers will be included in the conference Proceedings (electronic and/or print). To submit a paper, send four printed copies of the full paper (no abstracts) to the Contributed Papers Coordinator, Barbara Wildemuth, at the address below. Submitted papers should be approximately 2500-5000 words in length. Submissions should include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the author(s). All submitted papers must be received by November 15, 1997. Guidelines for submission (including style guides for the Proceedings) will be available on the Internet at the Mid-Year '98 homepage: http://www.asis.org/midyear98/.

Panels, Technical Sessions and Others

Panels, technical sessions and other presentations can be proposed and developed by individuals, one or more ASIS Special Interest Groups (SIGs) or by/with other organizations and individuals. Panel and technical sessions typically bring together expert panelists to present findings or debate. The abstracts of all accepted panels and technical sessions will be included in the conference Proceedings (electronic and/or print). To submit a proposal, send the session title, a 500-word abstract and participant list to the SIG and Panel Sessions Coordinator, Kris Liberman, at the address below. Submissions also should include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the organizer(s), as well as the sponsoring SIG(s) and/or organization(s), as appropriate. All proposals must be received by November 15, 1997. Guidelines for submission (including style guides for the Proceedings) will be available on the Internet at the Mid-Year '98 homepage: http://www.asis.org/midyear98/.

Researchers who would like to demonstrate their work are also invited to participate in this meeting. Demonstration sessions are intended to show both in-progress and mature implementations of novel ideas for collaboration and collaborative work. To submit a proposal for a demonstration session, send the title and a 500-word description of the planned demonstration to the SIG and Panel Sessions Coordinator, Kris Liberman, at the address below. Submissions should include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the proposed presenter(s). All proposals must be received by November 15, 1997.

Commercial providers of products and/or services that support collaboration are invited to showcase their products and services at this meeting. We especially encourage review of pre-commercial release products. Interested companies should contact ASIS Headquarters concerning arrangements for demonstration and/or exhibit space.

Call for Participation 1998 ASIS Annual Meeting

Information Access in the Global Information Economy

As the Internet spans the globe, we are beginning to see the growth of a truly global economy fueled by the exchange of information and information-based products. In this new economy there is an ever-increasing and critical need to provide access to the information available. Information and knowledge are rapidly becoming available to anyone, located anywhere, at any time.

Information science has provided many of the key elements in making this global information accessible to those who need it. The 1998 ASIS Annual Meeting will examine information access and what it means in a global information economy. The topics that will be examined include the following:

Producing and delivering information resources.

Who will be the information producers of tomorrow?

How will the face of publishing and information services change in a global marketplace where individuals are able to offer information services directly to consumers?

What will be the effects of the lack of quality control exercised by traditional publishers in a world where authors provide access to their own works?

What are the social effects of global information access?

How will the information economy develop and what is the economic value of information?

Who will benefit, and who might be harmed by global information access and how?

What is the role of information and access to information in defining cultural values, social standing and political power?

Will global information access lead to a homogenization of culture around the world?

What new forms of commerce might emerge to support information access and interchange?

What new structures for information organization and access will emerge?

How will effective access to the ever- growing contents of the world's information resources be provided?

How can effective information retrieval methods be applied across the entire range of information resources, including video, images, sounds and multimedia objects as well as texts, in a global network environment?

How should information resources be managed to promote global access and accessibility?

How should organizations and individuals manage the entire information life cycle (creation, organization, management, retrieval, use and disposal) in this emerging global network environment?

How will people access and use information?

How will people seek out and use the information resources they need for work, school and leisure?

How will users judge the quality, authenticity and value of information resources?

How will teaching and learning change in this new environment? How will the interface to global information resources change to adapt to the needs of the user and the ever-changing nature of the network environment?

How can information resources help people work smarter, faster, and more productively?

How will people collaborate and interact in this global information environment?

These themes will be explored by keynote and invited speakers and through refereed papers, panels and technical sessions. We invite participation through submission of papers and proposals for panels and technical sessions on topics associated with the general themes outlined above.

Types of Submissions Contributed Papers

Contributed papers should present research contributions in the areas outlined above. All papers will be refereed, and accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings and will be presented at the meeting. Initial intents to submit a paper for consideration should include the author(s) name, complete addresses, phone, FAX and e-mail, title and 250-word extended outline or abstract of the proposed paper. All intents to submit papers must be received by Contributed Paper Coordinator by December 15, 1997. Preliminary approval will be made by January 15, 1998. Three copies of the complete paper will be due on February 15, 1998. Final notification of acceptance will be made by April 1, 1998. The camera-ready copy of the paper for publication in the Proceedings will be due on June 1, 1998.

Panels and technical sessions are usually organized by ASIS Special Interest Groups, but may be proposed by other organizations or individuals. Proposals for panels or technical sessions should include a title and 500-word description of the session, along with the name, complete addresses, phone, FAX and e-mail for the session organizer (contact person) and the names and affiliations of presenters or other session participants (including moderators, reactors, etc.). All proposals for panels, technical sessions and other presentations must be received by the Panel Session Coordinator by December 15, 1997. Notification of acceptance will be sent to the contact person by February 1, 1998. Final program details, including participant names and presentation titles, will be due by March 15, 1998. Camera-ready copy of abstracts and a description of the session for publication in the Proceedings will be due on June 1, 1998. Panel session papers may be submitted to the Contributed Paper Coordinator to be refereed for inclusion in the Proceedings.